Amid China's high unemployment rate, the stories of several university graduates whose knowledge is not being used
- Stephen McDonell
- BBC China correspondent
China is now a country where a high school handyman has a master's degree in physics, a cleaner has a qualification in environmental planning, a food delivery man has studied philosophy, and a doctoral graduate from the prestigious Tsinghua University applies to become an auxiliary police officer.
These are real examples of tough economic times - and similar examples are not hard to find.
“I dreamed of working in investment banking,” said Sun Zhan as he prepared to start a day as a waiter at a hotpot restaurant in Nanjing.
The 25-year-old, who recently graduated with a master's degree in finance, had hoped to "make a lot of money" in a high-paying position, but said, "I looked for those kinds of jobs and they didn't work out well."
China produces tens of millions of college graduates every year, but in some fields, there are not enough job opportunities.
The Chinese economy is currently facing difficulties, with major industries such as real estate and manufacturing stagnating.
The youth unemployment rate hit 20% before a statistical methodology tweak made the picture look better. In August 2024, the youth unemployment rate was still 18.8%, with the latest November figure falling to 16.1%.
Many university graduates are finding it difficult to find jobs in their chosen fields of study and are now stuck in jobs below their qualifications, sparking criticism from family and friends.
Sun Zhan became a waiter, which aroused his parents' dissatisfaction.
"My family's opinion is very important to me. After all, I studied for many years and went to a good school," he said.
He said his family was embarrassed by his career choice and would have preferred he try to become a civil servant or official, but he said, "This is my own choice."
However, he had a secret plan: he planned to use his time as a waiter to learn the business and eventually open his own restaurant.
He believed that if he could eventually run a successful business, his family's criticism of him would change.
"The current employment situation in mainland China is really difficult, so I guess many young people have to readjust their expectations," said Zhang Jun, associate professor of public and international affairs at City University of Hong Kong.
She said many students chose to pursue higher degrees in the hope of having better prospects, but the reality of the job market hit them hard.
“The job market is really tough,” said Wu Dan, 29, now an intern at a sports injury massage clinic in Shanghai.
She said, “For many of my master’s students, this is their first time looking for a job, but few have found one.”
She also didn’t expect that she, who graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with a degree in finance, would end up in this place.
Previously, she worked for a futures trading company in Shanghai, specializing in agricultural products.
When she completed her studies in Hong Kong and returned to the mainland, she originally hoped to work in a private equity firm. She did get some job opportunities at the time, but she was not satisfied with the conditions.
Instead of taking those jobs, she began training in sports medicine, a decision that was not popular with her family.
"They thought I had a good job and a competitive education background. They didn't understand why I would choose such a low-level job that required manual labor and paid so little," she said.
She admits that if it weren't for her partner owning a house, she wouldn't be able to survive in Shanghai on her current salary.
Initially, no one around her supported her career choice, but her mother's attitude began to change after she recently helped her mother with back pain, which greatly reduced her pain.
Today, the former finance graduate says a career in the investment world isn’t really for him.
She said she is interested in sports injuries, likes this job, and hopes to open her own clinic in the future.
China's graduates are being forced to change their view of what a "good job" is, Professor Zhang said.
She noted that "many companies in China, including many tech companies, have laid off a large number of employees," which could be seen as a "warning signal" to young people.
She also said that sectors of the economy that once attracted large numbers of graduates now offered substandard working conditions, and decent jobs in those sectors were disappearing.
While thinking about what to do in the future, unemployed graduates are also turning to the film and television industry.
Big-budget movies require large numbers of extras to fill scenes, and Hengdian, a famous Chinese filming base southwest of Shanghai, is where many young people seek acting jobs.
"I mainly stand next to the protagonist as a vase. I can be seen next to the protagonist, but I have no lines." Wu Xinghai studied electronic information engineering and is currently playing a bodyguard in a TV series.
The 26-year-old also said that his looks helped him find work as an extra.
He said many people come to Hengdian and usually work for only a few months at a time. He sees this as a transition until he can find a stable job. "I don't make much money, but my life is easier and I feel freer."
"That's how it is in China, isn't it? As soon as you graduate, you're unemployed," said Mr. Li, who declined to give his full name.
He majored in film directing and screenwriting, and also signed up to be an extra for a few months.
He said, "I came here to look for work when I was young, and when I get older, I will find a stable job."
Yet many people worry that they will never find a decent job and will have to accept a role that is completely different from what they originally imagined.
A lack of confidence in China's future economic development means young people often don't know what their future will hold.
Wu Dan said that even some of his friends who have jobs feel quite lost.
"They are also confused and feel that the future is uncertain. Even if they have jobs, they are not satisfied. They don't know how long they can stay in these jobs, and if they lose this job, what else can they do?"
She said she would "take things as they come and gradually explore what I really want to do."
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